1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for providing a service to travelers. In particular, this invention relates to a system and method for providing a service to a traveler to acquire at the traveler's destination site items that are typically carried in the traveler's luggage.
2. Description of the Related Art
In today's society there is a high volume of travelers traveling long distance. For example, nearly a million people travel by air every day, just in the United States. The Department of Transportation's Office of International Aviation reports that nearly 97 million passengers traveled by air between the United States and the rest of the world during calendar year 1994. A significant fraction of these passengers (almost half of US domestic travelers) are traveling for business, and many business travelers make many air trips in a year.
Most people travel with luggage. Traveling, such as by air, train, car, boat, and bus, with luggage presents problems, both for the traveler and for the travel provider. For example: travelers are apt to forget to include items in their luggage when packing; certain items to be packed are not conducive to travel as they tend to spill, explode or be spoiled during travel (for example, shampoo, cosmetics, lotions, medications etc.); certain items to be packed must, in order to be practical, be bought in travel sizes (for example irons, etc.) that are inconvenient to use and buy; business travelers traveling on short notice might prefer to leave from their office, and travel directly to a terminal without going home to pack luggage; travelers having special health concerns, such as those who are frail or handicapped, may find it difficult to carry even a minimum of luggage or impossible to carry luggage altogether and furthermore may have additional luggage due to medical equipment and medications; travelers may want to avoid traveling with expensive items such as laptop computers, cash or jewelry, as they may pose a risk of being stolen; travelers traveling to a climate which is very different from where they live may be forced to acquire clothing that they will need only while staying at that destination, such as when traveling from a hot, humid climate to one with a cold winter. Winter clothing acquired for travel may be bulky and cumbersome and require an additional piece(s) of luggage. The table shown at http://www.bts.gov/oai/international/calyr94.htm shows that much travel occurs between the U.S. and other countries in different climate zones. For such trips travelers need to acquire items such as clothing that may be needed only for the time of their stay in a different geographic zone. The traveler might prefer not to buy items that will only be used for a short time during their travels. This consideration is exacerbated in that items suitable for the destination may simply not be available at the point of origin, or at least, not available proximate to the time of travel due to the desire of merchants to use their selling space for seasonally appropriate items.
FIGS. 3A–C is a flowchart of processing performed by the virtual luggage server in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Problems associated with travel with checked-in luggage include, for example: an increase in travel time due to requiring an earlier arrival at the origin airport than would otherwise be necessary; an increase in travel time due to a delayed departure from the destination airport due to waiting for baggage to be delivered; the checked-in luggage occupying storage space in the carrier's hold that could more profitably be used to carry freight; and the checked-in luggage being lost, stolen or sent in error to the wrong destination. In January of 1998 there were 211,353 reports of stolen, damaged or misplaced luggage per 35,005,471 passengers that were carried by 10 major American airlines. On average, 6.04 passengers per 100 reported problems with luggage.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and a method for eliminating the need for travelers to travel with luggage or to minimize the amount of luggage.